COLLEGE ARMS HOTEL COMPANY, ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
THE ATLANTIC COAST LINE RAILROAD COMPANY, ET AL., APPELLEES
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Property owners in DeLand challenged the Florida Railroad Commissioners' order to relocate a railroad depot from its original site to a new location about a mile away after the original depot burned. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the bill in equity, holding that the Railroad Commissioners had statutory authority to order reasonable depot relocations and that the order was valid because it was prima facie reasonable and the complainants failed to meet their burden of proving it unjust or unreasonable.
The court held that the Railroad Commissioners had clear statutory authority to order the relocation of the depot, that their order was prima facie reasonable and just, and that the complainants failed to present evidence rebutting this presumption. Even if the complainants had a right to maintain the suit, they could not enjoin the Commissioners' performance of their statutory duties absent proof that the order was unjust, unreasonable, or otherwise illegal.
“The authority given by the statutes to the Railroad Commissioners clearly includes the right to make a just and reasonable order for the erection of railroad depots for the convenience of the public in this State.”
Establishes the statutory foundation for the Commissioners' authority to order depot relocations.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company established a depot in DeLand in 1888 at a location chosen in exchange for concessions from nearby property o…
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Whitfield, C. J.
It appears that the depot of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company at DeLand, Florida, was located in 1888 at a certain point in consideration of concessions made by persons whose property would be benefited by the location of the depot; that the depot was burned and the Railroad Commissioners of the State ordered a depot to be erected at another point perhaps a mile from the original site; that a bill in equity was filed by persons alleged to be specially injured in their property rights by the removal of the depot, against the railroad company, the Railroad Commissioners of the State and the State Attorney for the County, in which a temporary injunction was issued restraining the execution of the order of the Railroad Commissioners for the erection of another depot; that answers not under oath were filed by the railroad company and the Railroad Commissioners ; that the injunction was dissolved and the bill of complaint was dismissed for want of equity as to the Railroad Commissioners. From this decree the complainants appealed.
The questions argued are whether the complainants have a right to maintain the suit, and whether the order of the Railroad Commissioners for the erection of a depot at a different point is valid.
The authority given by the statutes to the Railroad Commissioners clearly includes the right to make a just and reasonable order for the erection of railroad depots for the convenience of the public in this State.
Such an order is by the statute made prima facie reasonable and just, and the burden of showing the contrary is on those denying that the order is just and reasonable. As the Railroad Commissioners had authority to order a depot to be' located at another place at the town,' the Commissioners cannot be enjoined unless the order is riot reasonable and just with reference to the rights of the general public, the complainants and the railroad company, and unless it also appears that the complainants have a right to maintain the suit. Uven if the location of the complainants’ property and their relation to the rail road company give them special rights as against the railroad company with reference to the depot facilities so as to lawfully entitle them to damages for losses resulting from a removal of the depot, the Railroad Commissioners cannot he enjoined in the performance of their statutory duties, if the action taken by them is not unjust and unreasonable or otherwise illegal.
The order of the Railroad Commissioners made a part of the bill of complaint states that the “public convenience with reference to both passengers and freight requires that the depot shall be located, not on the old site, but on the other described tract, which can be done without detriment to the interests of the railroad company.” This finding is prima facie correct and it is not met by any evidence. The order of the Railroad Commissioners does not forbid service to be rendered at the old depot.
Even if the complainants had a right to maintain the suit, there is manifestly no error in dissolving the injunction and dismissing the bill of complaint as against the Railroad Commissioners. No other question is involved here.
The decree appealed from is affirmed.
Shackleford and Cockrell, J. J., concur;
Taylor, Hocker and Parkhill, J. J., concur in the opinion.
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The State of Fla. ex rel. R. Hudson Burr v. Jacksonville Terminal Co., 71 Fla. 295 (Fla. 1916)…ng its line as may be deemed necessary for the safety, convenience and comfort of the passengers traveling over such railroad. Such a class of depots this court dealt with in the following cases: College Arms Hotel Co. v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co., 61 Fla. 550, 54 South. Rep. 459; Louisville & N. R. Co. v. Railroad Com’rs, 63 Fla. 491, 58 South. Rep. 543; State ex rel., Railroad Com’rs v. Florida East Coast Ry. Co., 69 Fla. 165, 67 South. Rep. 906. Subdivision 8 deals with “joint passenger terminal [*327…
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State v. The Atl. Coast Line R.R. Co. & The Seaboard Air Line Ry., 67 Fla. 441 (Fla. 1913)…ad Commissioners. If they were so raised, the decision of the Commissioners was adverse to the respondent and such deciion is not so presented to us that we can review such matters. As we held in College Arms Hotel Co. v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co., 61 Fla. 550, 54 South. Rep. 459, “The authority given hy the statutes to the Railroad Commissioners clearly includes the right to make a just and reasonable order for the erection of railroad depots [*458] in. this State for the convenience of the public.” We f…
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The State of Fla. ex rel. R. Hudson Burr v. Seaboard Air Line Ry. Co., 89 Fla. 419 (Fla. 1925)…the order. State ex rel. Attorney General v. Atlantic Coast Line Ry., 52 Fla. 646, 41 South. Rep. 705; State ex rel. Railroad Com’rs. v. Florida East Coast R. Co., 57 Fla. 522, 49 South. Rep. 43; College Arms Hotel Co. v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co., 61 Fla. 550, 54 South. Rep. 459; State ex rel. Railroad Com’rs. v. Southern Tel. & Const. Co., 65 Fla. 270, 61 South. Rep. 506; State ex rel. Railroad Com’rs. v. Florida East Coast R. Co., 67 Fla. 83, 64 South. Rep. 443; State ex rel. Railroad Com’rs. v. Florid…
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